A case of good customer service

We often hear about how customer service has deteriorated into rudeness and apathy, how everyone is out to screw the consumer in any way possible. But sometimes we meet people who manage to run their business and still take time to care about the customer. Last Friday we met one of those people.

What follows is a story that starts funny, becomes, tragic and ends happy.

{this is where the story gets funny}

The other day my Suburban's car battery died. I was taking my son to preschool and it just wouldn't turn over. Which was odd because we replaced it less than a month ago. Everyone knows that means it is probably the alternator. Well I knew it after I called my husband and he told me. He left a meeting to come jump start the car for me, but it wouldn't jump. Remembering the last time this happened, Peter decided to try adding gas. When we added gas, the car started right up. That's right, I had accidentally run out of gas. We congratulated ourselves on saving the money (and embarrassment) of calling a mechanic for an empty gas tank. Well, Peter managed to laugh at me, too. After all this was the 2nd time we had jumped the car only to find it was out of gas (although the last time was the month before when it needed a new car battery and gas). Actually this was the 3rd time, but the 1st time doesn't really count because we didn't know the gas gauge only went down to a 1/4 tank before it was empty and we had owned it less than a month.

{this is where the story gets tragic}

Peter chuckled until the next morning when the car wouldn't start again. Only this time we were in the school parking lot after attending parent teacher conferences, in the rain with all the kids. Apparently we were suffering from both no gas and a bad alternator the day before. We got someone to try to jump the car, but it still wouldn't start. So I called the mechanic who I had looked up the day before when we thought, accurately, it was the alternator.

{and this is where the story gets happy}

The owner said he didn't have an opening till next Thursday (this was a Friday). When we explained our predicament, he agreed to see us right away and have it done by the next day. We told him we were just down the street at the elementary school and would have it towed into his shop. "Don't do that, I'll save you the tow fee," he said with an offer to come out with a battery pack to get us to the shop. He arrived less than 5 minutes later, attached the battery pack and led us back to his shop.

Then, when he heard we were renting a minivan till the car was fixed, he offered to have it done before the end of the day. He then offered to drive us home to wait. Because we had 5 kids with us (Elise didn't have the day off in the middle school), he took two trips to get us home. He even carried the car seats up to the front door for me and assured me it as OK that my two year old freaked out and screamed the whole drive home. By 3:00 the car was finished and ready for us to pick up.

If that isn't exceptional service, I don't know what is.